With new tariffs being placed on textiles coming from China, many U.S. fabric importers are scrambling to find new textile trading partners whose goods are not subject to the recently imposed 10 percent tariff that could rise to 25 percent at the beginning of the year.

With the last-minute announcement on Sept. 30 that Canada would be joining the free-trade agreement with the United States and Mexico, there will be a new North American Free Trade Agreement covering about $12.5 trillion in trade.

Now that the Trump administration’s $200 billion of additional tariffs have gone into effect on thousands of Chinese imports, the apparel and retail industries are figuring out what to do next. Covered in this round of tariffs are buttons, bobbins, yarns, embroidery, textiles, handbags and leather. Apparel is not part of the equation yet.

After months of talking about slapping tariffs on various imports from China, Canada and Mexico, the Trump administration announced it would like to start negotiations with the European Union to eliminate tariffs between the two regions.

The latest round of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports has the apparel world wondering if it is time to shift its manufacturing from the country that for decades has been known as the apparel factory to the world.

In the latest salvo in the tariff war between the United States and China, the U.S. cotton industry is expected to receive a direct hit as China piles on an additional 25 percent tariff on U.S. uncombed-cotton imports.